mil u Ottawa L'Universke canadienne Canada's university mn FACULTE DES ETUDES SUPERIEURES 1^=1 FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND ET POSTOCTORALES U Ottawa POSDOCTORAL STUDIES L'Lmversite cdnadieniu' Canada's university Russell Alexander Souchen "MWRTErATHESF/TUTHORWTHESTs"' M.A. (History) GRADETDEGREE Department of History FACULTE, ECOLE, DEPARTEMENT / FACULTY, SCHOOL, DEPARTMENT Beyond D-Day: Maintaining Morale in the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division June-July 1944 TITRE DE LA THESE / TITLE OF THESIS Serge Durflinger DIRECTEUR (DIRECTRICE) DE LA THESE / THESIS SUPERVISOR CO-DIRECTEUR (CO-DIRECTRICE) DE LA THESE / THESIS CO-SUPERVISOR Galen Perras Jeffrey Keshen Gary W. Slater Le Doyen de la Faculte des etudes superieures et postdoctorales / Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies BEYOND D-DAY: MAINTAINING MORALE IN THE 3rd CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION JUNE - JULY 1944 By R. Alexander Souchen Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the M. A. degree in History University of Ottawa/Universite d'Ottawa ©Russell Alexander Souchen, Ottawa, Canada, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre r§f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-73778-1 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-73778-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada ii ABSTRACT BEYOND D-DAY: MAINTAINING MORALE IN THE 3rd CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION, JUNE - JULY 1944 Russell Alexander Souchen Supervisor: University of Ottawa, 2010 Dr. Serge M. Durflinger This thesis evaluates the "human dimension" of military history and focuses primarily on soldiers from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during the first half of the Normandy campaign, 6 June to early July 1944. This study concerns itself with the subject of morale and the individual's experience in war. Therefore, it couples an exploration of the challenging physical and psychological conditions that the infantry confronted in battle, with a discussion of how they coped with, and persevered through, the awful bloodbath beyond D-Day. Five critical and related themes are addressed 1) anticipation versus reality; 2) privation and hardship; 3) improvisation and adaption; 4) coping, culture, and comradeship; and 5) administration and morale. By placing the common soldier at the centre of attention, this thesis reveals an interesting and innovative perspective into a variety of important subjects that are virtually unknown in the relevant historiography. Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the University of Ottawa and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for their generous financial support throughout my BA and MA programs. Their funding did much to quash the "starving- student" stereotype and I am deeply grateful for their assistance. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Canadian Battlefields Foundation (CBF) for the opportunity of travelling to Normandy on a guided study tour in the summer of 2007. History is a lot different when you can walk in its craters - and the CBF has influenced my perspective of Canadian military history profoundly. My colleagues in the History Graduate Student Association (HGSA) deserve mention as well. Their tireless effort in providing both an academically and socially stimulating environment made my time at the Department of History an exciting and profitable experience. Finally, I would also like to thank the helpful staffs at the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the Canadian War Museum (CWM), and the Directorate of History and Heritage (DHH) for all of their assistance in retrieving the primary and secondary materials that form the basis of this thesis. At times the volume of my requests was imposing, but they always cheerfully greeted and dealt with me in a professional and efficient manner. They made my job a lot easier and less stressful. I am indebted to my advisor, Dr. Serge Durflinger, for all his help. At every step of the way he shared my enthusiasm and excitement for the subject matter, and never tired in providing me with the encouragement, support, and guidance that helped me develop my ideas and interpretation. No matter how busy he was, he always had the time meet me, and I quickly learned from his own work ethic that there were no problems that iv could not be overcome with some hard work, attention to detail, and lots of digging. His knowledge of Canadian military history is not only humbling and inspiring, but also lent itself to precise and extensive editorial comments that improved the structure, focus, and most especially, the grammar of my work. In addition, Dr. Durflinger's insistence on professional development, through teaching assistantships and conference presentations, and his writing of a seemingly endless cycle of reference letters on my behalf, have opened up so many opportunities for my future and greatly influenced my growth as an historian. Thank you for everything! A number of other individuals deserve mention as well. Despite his relentless schedule, Dr. Tim Cook, of the CWM, always had a spare moment whenever I sought his advice, and his opinion and knowledge on soldiers' culture and trench newspapers of the First World War helped shape my own interpretations of those subjects for the Second World War. Dr. Doug Delaney, of the Royal Military College of Canada, offered his insight into the sometimes confusing world of battalion bureaucracies. Mike Bechthold, of the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic, and Disarmament Studies, graciously allowed me permission to reproduce the map appearing on page ix. Mr. James Lutz, a Regimental Trust Fund Member of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, and Dr. Ken Reynolds, of DHH, were kind enough to lend me transcripts of their interviews with veterans from the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, respectively. Professors Jeffrey Keshen and Galen Perras, of the University of Ottawa, also deserve my acknowledgement for their help in the classroom, for never refusing a reference letter request, and for agreeing to review this thesis. Finally, Colonel David Patterson, Zack Cavasin, Dr. Steve Harris, and Dr. Geoff Hayes rendered much assistance by uncovering sources and sharing opinions. V Last but not least, my family (on both sides) and all my friends (especially Kevin, Chris, Maggie, and Natalie) have always given me unconditional support and have endured on many occasions one-sided conversations about Normandy, the Canadian infantry, and the perils of thesis writing. I am grateful for your patience. However, my Mom and Dad deserve the most credit for my success. They gave me everything I could ever ask for, taught me all of life's lessons, and have always supported my decisions - even if they may have had some reservations at the time. This thesis is dedicated to them. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents vi List of Maps and Illustrations vii List of Abbreviations viii INTRODUCTION: "For God's sake send up the M.O." 1 CHAPTER 1: THE SHOCK OF BATTLE 15 Anticipation for Combat 17 Killing and Being Killed 28 The Landscape of Hell 46 CHAPTER 2: KILLING TIME, NOT GERMANS 71 In the Eye of a Deadly Storm: The Reserve Position 73 Coping, Culture, and Comradeship 90 CHAPTER 3: MORALE AND BATTALION HEADQUARTERS 119 Leadership 123 Logistics 143 Discipline 153 CONCLUSION: BEYOND D-DAY 166 Appendix I: Textual Materials 175 Bibliography 179 Vll LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Map of Canadian Sector, June 1944 ix Photo 1: Major C. M. Wightman and Captain J. C. G. Young 2 Photo 2: An undated photograph of a destroyed village in Normandy 36 Photo 3: Infantrymen of the RWR getting haircuts while awaiting D-Day 41 Photo 4: An unidentified member of the HLI digging a slit trench 58 Photo 5: NCOs toasting the SDGs four-year anniversary 81 Photo 6: Pte. H. B. Willis of the HLI shaving 84 Photo 7: Riflemen E. Deblois and J. C. Sackfield 85 Photo 8: Canadian soldiers relaxing outside their slit-trench 90 Photo 9: An unidentified soldier of the HLI reading what appears to be a newspaper....99 Photo 10: Cartoon from The Big 2 Bugle 108 Photo 11: Riflemen J.